Arriving at Sturt there was a gentle haze of rain, falling lightly, a delicate mist suspended, and then settling. The gardens, enchanting and peaceful, transported you to an inner quietness. It was a welcome retreat from hectic schedules of work. Driving from Canberra I arrived around 5.00pm to register for the Sturt Woodfire 2008 conference. Sturt Gardens

Sturt, and Sturt Pottery, is renowned for its influence on the development of the craft and design movement in Australia. A unique place where, as an Australian craft practitioner, you can experience ones own history and make claim to an Australian tradition. A rich history, albeit separated from Indigenous traditions, in the philosophical and education issues of the time. As quoted in The Craft Movement in Australia: A History, "Sturt grew out of two things: it was heavily influenced by Morris in England, and by a whole philosophy of education tied up with that - hand and mind, and the love of gardening." ₁ It was a remarkable woman who brought this vision for Sturt to reality. Winifred West founded Sturt in 1941. Her "greatest concerns were the development of imaginative thinking and original work, and the relationship of the individual to the community." ₂

Having sighted the marque on the lawn as I arrived there was a promise of the evening to come. I was looking forward to the official opening of the two exhibitions Susie McMeekin and Outside the Square and to meet up with friends and colleagues.

Chester Nealie opened the exhibitions - light and witty, and often teasing of Susie McMeekin's 'beginning' at Sturt. It was Ivan McMeekin, Susie's father, who established Sturt Pottery in 1953. Chester welcomed international visitors to the gathering, from countries including the US, Switzerland, Japan, United Kingdom, and to the amusement of all - Queensland and Tasmania. Woodfiring at Sturt

A time line of Sturt Pottery from 1953 to 2008 was included in the delegate's bag - a visual history of those touched by Sturt and their influences that permeated the aesthetics of Australian potters. Over the years potters from New Zealand, France, UK, Japan, Canada, Belgium and the US visited Sturt.

Throughout the evening (and following day) potters appeared like cameo appearances in a great film - Bill Samuels, Owen Rye, Peter Rushforth, Carol Rosser, Arthur Rosser, Janet Mansfield, Roswitha Wulff and Janet Barriskill. For many, Sturt Woodfire 2008 was a home coming reconnecting with family and place.

Wine flowed, the BBQ was delightful (and served with aplomb), conversations were easy, the night meandered along leading you to the kilns, watching, enquiring, as the keepers-of-fire stoked throughout the night. Then back through the gardens as the night closed in and the mist descended. An excitement pervaded.

The ogama, noborigama and anagama kilns were all firing simultaneously, looking spectacular against the shadows of night. Unfortunately, I had left Sturt before they were opened and their treasures revealed.

Janet Mansfield opened the conference, welcoming the delegates with eloquence and humour. Did I hear a hint of Janet focusing on her own practice with renewed attention? Having recently been to the Design Island Forum in Tasmania I learnt that Janet had handed over the reigns of Ceramics: Art and Perception International. With no longer a gallery to run or a magazine to publish we wait to see where her boundless energy will take her. Janet Mansfield website

The overall discussion for the day was Is woodfiring relevant in a contemporary context? The panel included Robert Bell, Senor Curator of Decorative Arts and Design at the National Gallery of Australia, Anthony Bond, Director of Curatorial Services at The Art Gallery of New South Wales, Dr Noelene Lucas an artist with a background in sculpture and Ron Meyers, one of America's well known ceramic artists. The panel was chaired by Jacqueline Clayton who has a long career in ceramics, both as a maker and educator.

Anthony Bond shared a fascinating story of his early days in England to his current days at Pebbly Beach in Australia, taking us on a personal journey into his world of clay. As an enthusiastic devotee of clay in the 1960's in England he embarked on a plan to build a kiln and to make and fire beer mugs from materials collected from Central London. Today he makes clay objects one week of the year, during his annual holiday at Pebbly Beach. The clay is dug and prepared, forms created, then burnished and left unfired. The work is intimate and accomplished.

It came then as no surprise to hear it was Bond who brought us Gormley's A Field for the Art Gallery of New South Wales 1989. The 1100 clay figures in the installation were also unfired. View images   Bond also spoke of the connections of 'mud' and the work of one of his favourite artists - Anselm Kiefer.

Through Bond's presentation we viewed clay 'outside of the norm', in a context, perhaps unacceptable to the traditions of woodfiring. Reminiscent of Garth Clarke's pervasive words in his opening keynote address at Verge, the 11th Australian National Ceramics conference in Brisbane in 2006: "Momentum is building towards a new direction for ceramics as art, and none of us know exactly where it is leading and whether we will like it when we get there." ₃

I keep returning to Clarke's metaphor of 'Fortress Ceramica' and the need to move beyond that "highly effective walled city we have built over the last 150 years; a self-contained society from which we can safely bemoan our marginalisation, while at the same time avoiding the pressures and the aggression of the bigger art market ..." ₄

Wood-firers in Australia are rich in environment and have developed uniqueness in their inter-play between wood and process. Being at Sturt Woodfire 2008 is a testament to this wealth of Masters and innovators. In reflection I ask - do we have the leaders and visionaries, and the courage, to move beyond introspection? The question, at the end of the first day, still remained.

A highlight of the day was a presentation of recent works by Neil Hoffmann. Absorbed, you became aware of Hoffman's uncompromising path of intuition and poetry and his deep love for and connection to the environment. The intensity of this internalised emotion manifests itself in his sculptures resulting in work that moves beyond an easily identified frame of reference. Hoffman says of his process, "Through making I seek to discover something of the primal energy, spirit and potency of the subterranean." ₅

Meandering, you discover the delights of the delegate's exhibition and the mug sale, the Sturt Archives building - where the The Masters exhibition was held. Through the generosity and support of the Thyne Reid Foundation the Archives building had been restored to home the historically significant Sturt Permanent Collection.

Day moved into night and we gathered again for the evening's exhibition openings. Key Presenters, The Masters and A Taste of Woodfiring were opened by Robert Bell. A haze of rain, a light mist descended once again awakening memories of family and warmth. The night moved with ease - talking with old friends, meeting people, intimacies forming, inspirations felt and kilns visited. All too soon it was Sunday and time to head back to Canberra.

Megan Patey is to be applauded for her role in organising the conference and as Head of Sturt - a tireless, self-effacing leader. Megan, an accomplished potter having worked in France and England, was appointed Head of Sturt in 1998. Under her guidance Sturt has flourished and her innate ability to obtain excellence was experienced first hand at the conference. The Sturt team may be small but the output was impressive. Paul Davis (Head of Sturt Pottery), Slavica Zivkovic (Manager of Sturt Gallery) and Dale Dryen (Course Administrator) were inexhaustible.

Avi Amesbury
May 2008

Footnotes

1. Grace Cochrane, The Craft Movement in Australia: A History, NSW University Press, 1992, page 72
2. Cochrane, op cit, page72
3. K.Weiss, The Journal of Australian Ceramics, Answered prayers Garth Clarke and Mark Del Vecchio at Verge, 2006, Issue 45#3   www.australianceramics.com/NOV06/answered.html
4. Weiss, op cit
5. Australian Woodfire Survey 2005   www.australianwoodfire.com/cataloguePage.php?aid=15